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V2 Vocabulary Building Dictionary


cull

verb

Definition: 1. to remove something undersirable or inferior from a group; 2. to select or pick something from a group, especially to use as an example

Synonyms: extract, select, pick, pluck, choose, glean, remove, compile, gather

Antonyms:

Tips: Cull is an old farming word that was used to describe the selection of livestock. Since this entailed both selecting and organizing the "good" livestock and removing the "bad," cull now has two almost contradictory uses. One is to remove anything negative, the other is to collect and bring together the good. When using these two definitions, think of the idea of selecting from a group the good components and getting rid of the bad components. The selecting of good components is similar to coalesce, but more specific to selecting the right components, versus coalesce, which means "to bring together and organize resources." Cull can also be used as a noun to denote the thing that has been discarded or selected. Cull is also closely related to glean. See detailed analysis at glean.

Usage Examples:

The scientists wished to cull test subjects who refused to follow protocol. (remove)

The network decided to cull the best photographs of the President in light of the upcoming political campaign. (select, compile)

Now that I’ve done all of my research, I’ll have to cull the data in a concise report. (compile, gather)

We need to cull this company of inefficient employees. (pluck, remove, eliminate)


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